


Pilot Error? Bullshit

by DefendersofMCUniverse (GeekMom13)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, First Kiss, M/M, Mentions of Shiro's Assumed Death, Pre-Canon, mostly at least
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 06:31:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17844215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeekMom13/pseuds/DefendersofMCUniverse
Summary: Keith missed his first chance, he wasn't going to miss this chance with Shiro





	Pilot Error? Bullshit

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ChizuMaki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChizuMaki/gifts).



> Hopefully I tagged the right Chizu on here! Happy Belated Valentines!!!
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks to Foxy for checking this over.

“Today, we remember the life of Takashi Shirogane-”

Keith tuned the rest out. Shiro _wasn’t_ dead. They all knew it but no one spoke up. Even Adam fell in line and believed the lies.

_Pilot Error._

Bullshit.

Keith was welcome to sit near the family- at least Adam didn’t betray him  _that much._ Though, as everyone filed through the line offering their condolences, it didn’t seem like such a great thing to have been given.

He could remember the same stale phrases from when his father died. And, once again, he was left alone and there would be no one to pick up the pieces.

It wasn’t a surprise to anyone when he decked Iverson a week after the “funeral” and they were running drills pretending to rescue the crew of the Kerberos.

Adam walked out of the main office. “Keith, they’ll let you stay if you just admit-”

“Admit _what?_ That he was a shit pilot? NO! You knew him! Shiro would _never-”_

“Keith, Shiro was sick. We all wanted him to stay.”

“But he was cleared for the mission! They wouldn’t have cleared him if it was so bad!”

Adam glared. “Keith, they had no way of knowing what an extended stay in space would mean for-”

“Whatever.” Keith had realized shortly after the shuttle took off that his crush had turned from just a surface-level attraction that everyone held for the local hero… into love.

“At least,” Adam put a hand on his shoulder, “at least apologize. I’m sure if you do, we can push back those simulations until you graduate.”

Keith shook off the hand and stood up- the simulations should never be allowed. “If it takes selling Shiro out to stay, I would rather leave.”

Adam flinched at the tone and what Keith was saying but helped Keith pack, seeing him off to avoid getting any guards involved in removing him from the Garrison property.

Keith settled in the shack that he inherited when he hit sixteen- still full of his dad’s stuff and memories of his childhood. It took a week to clean it up enough to live in safely.

Before long, he was itching to do something so Keith fired up his dad’s old scanner- tweaking it until he could hear the familiar patrol calls from the Garrison. There were just normal issues at first, cadets out of bed, space junk messing with the satellites… and then there was an incoming craft.

Keith just _knew_ it was important- knew he needed to keep an eye on that one.

Then the feeling started. He was being drawn beyond the shack and into the mountains. Keith searched during the day, hiking back each evening and pinning up more things that _felt_ important. The craft tracked closer each day.

Keith couldn’t stop the feeling that _this_ was important.

He hadn’t felt that way in a while- first when his father died- he knew that day was different and struggled saying goodbye. Then when Shiro left- he just knew something would go wrong, even if he didn’t believe Shiro died.

And now, as he looked up at the walls of a cave covered in chiseled stories, he knew his feeling was right. The energy drew him close, but he hit a dead end.

Keith screamed at the air each time the energy would press him to keep going- there was nowhere _to_ go. What did this thing _want_ from him?

The craft eventually hailed in and was declare non-terrestrial but containing a human.

Keith knew then he’d be nearby when it landed. There were only _three_ humans in space unaccounted for- and one still held his heart.

The day it crashed, Keith was ready for it. He had found some of the old gear his father kept for the rare cave rescue when all other options would fail. He had snuck around the new quarantine tent that they had ready to “receive” the craft and laid out explosions.

That night, he flew in, quickly taking out everyone guarding a now unconscious Shiro. He was interrupted by some guy he barely remembered from the Garrison, but he was helping so Keith let it happen.

They all barely fit in the shack, leaving Keith’s skin itching from the interactions. He barely stayed inside long enough to check on Shiro before he would duck back out.

When Shiro woke up, he found himself running outside again. He wasn’t ready to see the change in his eyes, not yet.

Of course, Shiro followed.

Keith looked over, taking in a sight he wasn’t sure he’d ever see again. “It's good to have you back.”

“Heh,” a hollow laugh, “It's good to be back.”

“So what happened out there? Where... were you?” Keith wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer, but the question tumbled out anyway.

Shiro had turned up, months after the funeral that the Garrison had forced on all of them, and he was _different._ Even in the brief hours since his rescue, Keith could see it. He flinched at every loud sound, he tensed with every touch.

“I wish I could tell you. My head's still pretty scrambled. I was on an... alien ship but... somehow I escaped. It's all a blur. How did you know to come to save me when I crashed?”

Keith narrowed his eyes. Shiro was _still_ a shit liar. He obviously remembered at least a little bit. Keith turned to face him, tugging on his shoulder so Shiro was facing him too. “Takashi, I will _always_ come to save you.”

Shiro smiled and Keith slid his hand from Shiro’s shoulder up to his jaw, drawing him close, pausing right before they touched. Keith took a breath before pressing his lips against Shiro’s, short and gentle.

When he pulled back he offered a small smile. “You should come and see this.”

Keith pulled him into the shack, showing off all the signs he had gathered, maps and graphs and notes about it all. “I can't explain it, really. After getting booted from the Garrison, I was kinda... lost and... felt drawn to this place. It's like something... some energy, was telling me to search.”

Keith let everyone investigate, sitting back and hoping someone could make sense of it. Over the next few hours, everyone was busy, trying to decipher Keith’s work. Hunk eventually led them to a strange cave that Keith had visited many times before, the walls lined with stories of a blue lion.

Shiro had not said anything to him since the kiss, Keith wasn’t even sure if he had stopped to think of the implications of it. But then they were flying off in a giant blue lion and Shiro grabbed his hand and offered him a smile.

No matter what happened from here, Keith knew they’d be alright

**Author's Note:**

> You may notice this was originally posted under a different name (Shaladicks). This was my old pseud for VLD content, but I _did not_ own the Tumblr.  
> So, with a little work, I shifted it all over to [GeekMom13](https://geekmom13.tumblr.com/), but made this new pseud under my AO3.


End file.
